2 people die in weekend fires

Third fire results in arrest

MAT-SU -- Three homes burned Sunday and Monday, according to Alaska State Troopers, resulting in two deaths and one arrest.

The first fire was reported at 1:47 a.m. Sunday morning, at a residence off West Sands Drive in Wasilla. According to information from the troopers, the residence was fully engulfed when fire crews responded, and they worked four hours to put it out. A man's body was found in a downstairs recreation room, according to trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson, but the victim has not yet been identified.

Wilkinson said the body was transported to Anchorage to the State Medical Examiner's office for identification. The State Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire, however, it is believed to have been intentionally set.

A second fire was reported at 11:30 that morning, on Gentry Road in Meadow Lakes. According to a trooper report, a neighbor saw the fire and reported it. The neighbor, Wilkinson said, also reported that the resident's boyfriend had allegedly just threatened to burn the trailer down.

As troopers and fire crews responded, Wilkinson said they spotted the boyfriend, Benjamin "Guy" Miles, 34, of Big Lake, driving away from the scene. Miles was arrested and taken to Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, where he was booked on charges of arson of a residence. The trailerhome, according to trooper reports, was considered a total loss.

A third fire was reported at 2:32 Monday morning. Troopers from Big Lake reportedly responded to a house fire on Sunrise Loop in Big Lake, where a fire crew worked to put out the blaze. At approximately 5 a.m., the body of David Glenn McKinney, 49, of Big Lake, was located inside the burned house. Although the State Fire Marshal's office is still investigating the fire, Wilkinson said the fire appears to have been accidental, related to the wood stove or smoking materials. Foul play is not suspected, Wilkinson said, and the next of kin was notified.